


election night

by MegTheMighty



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, election night angst, riza being the best, roy being a ball of stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegTheMighty/pseuds/MegTheMighty
Summary: The stress of election night in Amestris leads to a quiet moment between a candidate and his wife.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 18
Kudos: 67





	election night

**Author's Note:**

> This is 100% self-serving, I really needed to distract myself from the _actual_ election next week so I wrote this and injected some royai happiness into the situation. I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Side note, I have a tumblr now so you can go see me at @megthemighty over there, and let me know if you have any prompts! My ask box should be open (but I'm still figuring everything out lol)

The knock on the door pulled Roy out of his thoughts. It should have been a welcome reprieve from his constant worry, but he immediately frowned and angrily turned toward the noise.

“I asked not to be disturbed right now,” he grumbled. 

His office was relatively bare since he spent so little time in it, but it was still a place of comfort. He didn’t have any pictures on his desk, but the signs of the people he loved were still around. The ashtray in the corner was only there because of Havoc’s frequent visits, and the chess board was left out in case Grumman decided to stop by unannounced. The most obvious signs, at least to him, were of Riza; his chair was set at the height she liked, the drawer of his desk held extra clips and pins for her hair, and somehow the smell of her new perfume already permeated the room.

The aide whose name he couldn’t recall nervously stood in the doorway, holding a pen and some papers that probably needed to be signed, but Roy wasn’t in the mood for that. It was one of the most nerve wracking nights of his life, and he didn’t need some random assistant pushing work on him. Only one person was allowed to do that.

“I’m sorry sir, I just…didn’t think that order applied to Mrs. Mustang,” the young man replied.

“It doesn’t,” another voice called from the hallway. “I’ll take those papers, Matthew, you can go back downstairs.”

Riza brushed past the aide—Matthew, apparently—and approached Roy’s desk. He looked over at her once the door was closed and tried to muster a smile for his wife, but his effort was in vain. The tension in his body was all too obvious, so she simply stood behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you here to seduce me into doing work?” he asked.

Riza almost snorted. “I don’t need to seduce you to get you to do your work, I’m still armed. That threat worked well enough for years.”

“I can’t say I miss that,” he muttered. “You’re bad enough with the puppies.”

“If you’re not going to do the house training, someone has to,” she retorted. Riza’s smile fell slightly when she looked down and saw his still-sullen features. 

“I didn’t bring you more work,” she finally said. “What are you thinking about?”

Roy sighed, not even knowing where to begin. He had no idea what would happen if he lost. His opponent, one of the members of Central’s top brass before the Promsied Day, planned to continue running Amestris as a military state. If that man won, Amestris’ first democratic election would be its last. There would be no more opportunities (barring another coup) for Roy to see his vision executed. 

On the other hand, if he did become the president, his life would be even busier than before. The weight of responsibility that had hovered above him for years would finally crash down, and his decisions would make or break all the ideals he believes in. 

“I’m scared to find out the results,” he finally admitted. “If I lose, I’ve wasted the past year campaigning, and the past decade working toward this. I’ve wasted all your loyalty and dedication. And if I win, I have to actually do everything we planned, and I don’t have any margin of error. One wrong decision could set the Ishvalan recovery back years.”

Riza’s hand drifted up to stroke through his hair as he continued. “You left the military to campaign with me, and you gave up everything you had built there. I couldn’t bear it if I let you down and you regretted everything.”

“Roy, I would have left everything behind for you. I have before, you know that,” she said softly. It was true; she had joined the military to follow him, then continued serving after Ishval to be by his side. Roy simply nodded.

“I believe in what we’re doing, so I’m here. I’m willing to make as many speeches and give as many interviews as it takes. I don’t care if people think I’m just your wife either, we’re both willing to sacrifice anything to make this work.” Roy felt her hand still in his hair. “And I’m not just here for the country, no matter how selfish that sounds. I’m here because you’re my husband and I love you.”

He couldn’t find the words to respond, so he just pulled her hand gently to beckon her toward him. Roy wrapped an arm awkwardly around her waist from his seat until she slid closer to lean against him and eventually settle lightly on his lap. 

“You don’t think people think you’re just my wife, do you?” he asked softly.

“Some people might,” she shrugged. “But neither of us should care. I wouldn’t be here if that was true.”

They sat like that for a few more peaceful minutes, just waiting for the moment to come that would change everything. Roy’s hands were still restless, running up and down her arms to expend his nervous energy. Riza was much calmer, as always, but she still felt the compulsion to do something, anything. 

She was just about to suggest going for a walk to clear their minds when the phone broke the silence in a loud ring. Roy jumped slightly, then tightened his hold around her waist.

“It’s the results,” he whispered. “I don’t want to know.”

“Yes you do. This is it.”

Riza leaned forward and stood to grab the phone on the desk. He couldn’t hear anything being said other than her soft “thank you” before she hung up again. 

“What is it?”

“I thought you didn’t want to know?”

Roy swallowed. She was faced away from him so he couldn’t see her expression and it was killing him. It was time and he had to know.

“Come on, Riza. Just put me out of my misery.”

“I won’t be doing that just yet,” she replied. “You have a job to do.”

She turned and he saw the soft smile across her lips. He let out the breath that he had been holding all day and immediately jumped to pull her into his arms again. Riza wrapped her arms around him as well, laughing lightly at his reaction. The air in the room was still full of tension, and Roy’s heart was beating faster than ever before, but the relief they both felt drowned everything else out. He almost didn’t let her go when she started to pull away, but Riza grabbed the papers on the desk and passed them over to him. 

“I think this is the last draft of your speech,” she said. “You should review it before you go down and talk to the entire country.”

“Is it the victory or concession speech? I don’t want to use the wrong one and admit defeat when I actually won,” he joked.

“It’s not the concession speech,” she answered. “I told them not to write one.”

Riza pressed a quick kiss to his forehead then turned toward the door. 

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to wait downstairs. You get yourself together, then we’ll go out and address the people.”

Roy rubbed his thumb over her hand once more before letting it go, watching her walk out the door. He looked down at the papers, skimming them quickly. If he listened closely, he could hear the roar of a crowd outside waiting for him. It was time, and he was ready.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this random one shot that popped into my head, this is absolutely unedited and rushed lol. Feel free to let me know what you think :)
> 
> Also, if you're eligible to vote in the United States and haven't already, please vote! Everyone's voice deserves to be heard and this election is incredibly important. There's still time to vote by mail, or in person on Election Day!


End file.
